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So, I never tried to make text diagrams and the thought of doing it (by hand, I assume) haunts me: How is it considered easy to build a simple table (or diagra
by 627467 6y ago
So, I never tried to make text diagrams and the thought of doing it (by hand, I assume) haunts me:
How is it considered easy to build a simple table (or diagram) by having to hit keyboard keys and navigate the cursors to seemingly random places to place characters, while keeping the spacing, proportions, etc correct?
I don't like word processors but at least they recognize that if I drawing of building a table I need a different interaction model.
Maybe someone in this thread could highlight use cases where making text-diagrams (that may be later converted using these tools) is better than picking a richer text editor.
- smusamashah 6y agoMarkdown tables are bad. Apart from that, maintaining/updating a textual description is way more easier. Because its text, you can have simple version control over it
- l_t 6y agoMaking plain-text diagrams isn't as hard as you might think, especially using "overwrite mode" (that weird thing that happens when you fat-finger the insert key!) But many of these tools work by allowing you to express the _intent_ of the diagram without having to draw it out. They're basically markup languages that get "compiled" into diagrams. PlantUML is a good example: http://www.plantuml.com/plantuml/uml/SyfFKj2rKt3CoKnELR1Io4ZDoSa70000 http://www.plantuml.com/plantuml/uml/SyfFKj2rKt3CoKnELR1Io4Z.... With these tools, you can make diagrams much, much faster (but usually with less nuanced control over presentation)